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Rosalyn Kelly's 12 reviews

Touch of Iron by Timandra Whitecastle (The Living Blade)

This fantasy novel had everything I love: fast-paced plot, fearless female main character, no-holds-barred fight scenes, some romantic/sexy moments and laugh-out-loud humour. It’s gritty, sweary, a bit different and has an intense grimdark feel.The aforementioned main character is Noraya, or Nora, who is slightly feral, is skilled a...

10.0/10

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Kurintor Nyusi by Aaron Michael Hall (Kurintor Nyusi Series)

This epic fantasy novel is full of diverse and well-realised characters, intriguing worldbuilding, vivid and descriptive writing, as well as fun-to-read dialogue. It tells the tale of one girl’s self-discovery and ‘awakening’. This is just in time for a looming battle with a wayward demon goddess who tricked a god a while back ...

7.5/10

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We Lie with Death by Devin Madson (The Reborn Empire)

Devin Madson’s We Ride the Storm was one of the most welcome surprises of 2018. By now, Madson has firmly established herself as an Aurealis Award-winning epic fantasy mogul, but it wasn’t until WRtS started catching fire among a few fellow bloggers that I decided to give this series a shot. This turned out to be a ...

8.3/10

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Light Dawning by Ty Arthur

This fantasy is definitely on the darker side with ruthless fight scenes, some arachnid-type creatures (urgh, shivers) and a bleak backdrop. Set in an occupied city called Cestia, the population is brutalised and oppressed by the occupiers from the south, who, after three years, still haven’t moved on. That’s because the occupiers ar...

6.5/10

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Paternus: Wrath of Gods by Dyrk Ashton (The Paternus Trilogy)

I listened to the audiobook of the first book in the trilogy, Paternus: Rise of Gods, and absolutely loved it, so I was super excited for book two. I read this one as an ebook and absolutely loved it too. Hurrah!The action picks up immediately after the close of book one and we are reintroduced to the teenagers Fi and Zeke, and their...

8.8/10

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Darkmage by ML Spencer (The Rhenwars Saga)

This grimdark fantasy book follows the story of Darien Lauchlin, a rebellious but honourable mage who returns to his hometown to take his official mage oath only to see the city, and his loved ones, destroyed by his wicked brother. Said brother opens a portal to the netherworld and unleashes all kinds of hellish creatures on the real world. Dari...

8.5/10

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I Was a Teenage Weredeer by C T Phipps (Bright Falls Mysteries)

This is a fun urban fantasy murder mystery which follows the adventures of 18-year-old Jane Doe in the Michigan town of Bright Falls as she hunts for the killer of her best friend’s sister, Victoria, after the murder is pinned on Jane’s brother. ​Jane is a weredeer, from a weredeer family, who can change shape into...

8.5/10

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Knee-Deep In Grit by Adrian Collins

Grimdark Magazine is an excellent digital publication chock-full of articles, reviews, discussion and short stories all focused on the darker and grittier side of fantasy and science fiction. This collection of 25 stories has been collated from tales that have appeared in the magazine over the past two years. And WOW, there’s been some goo...

9.0/10

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The Eighth God by Paul S Lavender (The Orcslayers)

This grimdark fantasy audiobook was a good listen. It tells the story of a world full of elves, humans, and orcs that has enjoyed an uneasy peace for thousands of years, after a mighty battle where seven elves were granted the power of seven Gods to decimate an orc army. Since that time the orcs have kept to their lands and the humans and elves ...

6.5/10

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The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark (Empires of Dust)

"Not sure I really feel like fucking someone who's part god and part suicidal drunk, you know"I received an advanced copy of The Court of Broken Knives via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Anna Smith Spark and Harper Voyager.2017 has been a stunning year for adult fant...

8.9/10

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Godblind by Anna Stephens

“The Red Gods Are Rising”*Contains minor spoilers*I received a free advanced copy of Godblind in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Anna Stephens and Harper Voyager.To begin with, I must admit that after reading the excellent Godblind I think I will be eternally afr...

8.8/10

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Bloodrush by Ben Galley

Bloodrush is a weird west fantasy is set in the frontier town of Fell Falls, America. It’s on the edges of a dusty, desolate desert. There are guns, wild locals, and monsters called railwraiths that eat up the railway workers attempting to lay tracks to expand the empire. There’s also blood magic and faeries. Yep, faeries!​T...

8.8/10

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